Today in History

Today in History: January 21

Today is Sunday، the 21st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 344 days remaining until the end of the year.

Today’s highlight in history:

1189 - King Henry II of England and King Philip II of France begin to mobilize their armies to the middle-east for the Third Crusade.

On this date:

1971 – The current Emley Moor transmitting station، the tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom، begins transmitting UHF broadcasts.1976 – Commercial service of Concorde begins with the London-Bahrain and Paris-Rio routes.1981 – Production of the iconic DeLorean DMC-12 sports car begins in Dunmurry، Northern Ireland، United Kingdom.1997 – The U.S. House of Representatives votes 395–28 to reprimand Newt Gingrich for ethics violations، making him the first Speaker of the House to be so disciplined.1999 – War on Drugs: In one of the largest drug busts in American history، the United States Coast Guard intercepts a ship with over 4،300 kilograms (9،500 lb) of cocaine on board.2000 – Ecuador: After the Ecuadorian Congress is seized by indigenous organizations، Col. Lucio Gutiérrez، Carlos Solorzano and Antonio Vargas depose President Jamil Mahuad. Gutierrez is later replaced by Gen. Carlos Mendoza، who resigns and allows Vice-President Gustavo Noboa to succeed Mahuad.2003 – A 7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes the Mexican state of Colima، killing 29 and leaving approximately 10،000 people homeless.2004 – NASA's MER-A (the Mars Rover Spirit) ceases communication with mission control. The problem lies in the management of its flash memory and is fixed remotely from Earth on February 6.2005 – In Belmopan، Belize، the unrest over the government's new taxes erupts into riots.2009 - Israel withdraws from the Gaza Strip، officially ending a three-week war it had with Hamas. However، intermittent air strikes by both sides continue in the weeks to follow.2011 – Anti government demonstrations take place in Tirana، Albania. Five people lose their life from gunshots، allegedly fired from armed police protecting the Prime Minister's office. To date، no one has been held accountable for the deaths.2017 – Over 400 cities across America and 160+ countries worldwide participate in a large-scale women's march، on Donald Trump's first full day as president of the United States.